As the NFL Draft wound down this past Saturday, a couple of the commentators started talking about Brock Purdy. Specifically about how much bigger and stronger he looked recently, and his work with a new trainer and his use of a new diet plan. They were shocked about how much muscle he had put on in just one off season. My immediate thought was around why this hadn’t happened before? Purdy had major college resources to train with in prior years and had also been in an NFL building for nearly two years now. Why the sudden change?
In trying to sort out an answer, having never been a college or NFL quarterback myself was this. It’s likely that with classes and other non-football obligations that a player doesn’t have the time to commit 100% to developing their bodies and their skills. While in the NFL, your body and your craft are your JOB, day in and day out. No classes or extracurricular activities required (and the time that those take from one’s schedule).
The expectation for Purdy is to be the best professional football player he can be, so it would make sense that he has had the time to develop his body and his knowledge as a player. So like most all professional teams, the goal is to give the player everything they need to become the best that they can be. Trainers, dieticians, psychologists, position coaches, massage therapists, you name it, if the player needs it to become better, good teams will find a way to get it for them.
Our son Brock (not to be confused with the 49ers quarterback) used to watch a kids show where the characters would say, “What if…..” and then they would talk through the science of figuring out a solution to whatever challenge they were encountering in that episode. Thinking about the evolution of Purdy, all the work he put in and all the resources that were provided to support him, I tried to tie it back to leadership.
What if…..
We as leaders gave our team members all the resources they needed to become better at what they do.
What if…..
We as followers asked those that lead us what we need to become a bigger contributor to the team.
What if…..
We take the time to better communicate with our team(s) to talk through what “winning” looks like and how we can help the team get there.
Give support where you can. Ask for help when you need it. Over communicate on the vision of victory so everyone knows what we are shooting for.
To be honest, I need to work on all of these myself. So “What if…..” we all start today? Me included.
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